'Bachelor' Jesse Palmer and Jessica Bowlin announce breakup

By Reality TV World staff, 06/17/2004

Better make that "0 for 5." The Bachelor's woeful romance record took another loss today when fifth series bachelor (and rumored to soon be ex-Giants quarterback) Jesse Palmer confirmed to the syndicated Extra entertainment news program that he and Jessica Bowlin, the woman he selected during the program's May finale, have decided to "mutually end their relationship."

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In a statement released exclusively to Extra (which is quickly becoming the Bachelor breakup announcement vehicle of choice, no doubt due to the common corporate ownership that both programs share) Jesse said, "Jessica and I shared an incredible romantic journey on the show that began with a friendship that remains strong today. We simply realized that, individually, our next steps take us in different directions."

Added Jessica, "With too much distance and too little time these were not ideal circumstances in which to start a relationship. Jesse is a great guy and has a wonderful family. Who knows what the future holds?" Jesse said he will continue to focus on his football career while Jessica said she is concentrating on finishing law school.

During the course of his Bachelor installment, Jesse whittled his field of 25 eligible ladies down to two. Ultimately, the NFL New York Giants back-up quarterback made his final pass to Jessica, a 22-year-old California law student. Though he didn’t propose, Jesse asked Jessica to "chase all your dreams" with him by her side. He then presented her with a one-way, first class ticket to New York City. After the show’s finale, Jessica opted not to relocate and the couple has since been trying to make a long-distance relationship work.

Jesse and Jessica's break-up announcement follows in the footsteps of every other previous Bachelor couple. In a particularly busy Bachelor breakup holiday season, both fourth edition couple Bob Guiney and Estella Gardinier and third edition couple Andrew Firestone and Jen Schefft also appeared on Extra (separately) to formally announce their own breakups (although Bob and Estella's demise had been widely reported prior to their appearance.) The three failed couples join the show's first and second season couples of Alex Michael and Amanda Marsh and Aaron Buerge and Helene Eksterowicz in having failed to develop a lasting romantic relationship on the ABC reality show (and perhaps that's why, if the most recent season's ratings are any indication, the program's popularity appears to be on the wane.)